Malbis Memorial Church, formally the Sacred Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of the Presentation of Theotokos, is a

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

located in Malbis,

Baldwin County, Alabama Baldwin County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama, on the Gulf coast. It is one of only two counties in Alabama that border the Gulf of Mexico, along with Mobile County. As of the 2020 census, the populat ...

. One of roughly six Greek Orthodox churches in the state of Alabama, it is not a part of the

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, headquartered in New York City, is an eparchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Its current primate is Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. Archbishop On May 11, 2019, the church's Hol ...

, but is instead directly under the authority of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It is known for its intricate and extensive

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

s and

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

s. The church was officially dedicated on January 3, 1965, and the opening service for the church was conducted by

Archbishop Iakovos of America Archbishop Iakovos of North and South America ( el, Ιάκωβος; born Demetrios Koukouzis (Δημήτριος Κουκούζης); July 29, 1911 – April 10, 2005) was the primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America ...

. It has never had an active congregation, but religious observances, special services, and events, such as weddings, do take place. It was listed on the

Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage The Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage, commonly referred to as the Alabama Register, is an official listing of buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts deemed worthy of preservation in the U.S. state of Alabama. These properties ...

on November 30, 1977. The Malbis Plantation Historic District, which includes the church, was designated by the

Alabama Historical Commission The Alabama Historical Commission is the historic preservation agency for the U.S. state of Alabama. The agency was created by an act of the state legislature in 1966 with a mission of safeguarding Alabama’s historic buildings and sites. It consi ...

in 2008, a year that also saw the death of the last of Malbis Plantation's original Greek settlers.

History

The history of the church at Malbis begins with the foundation of Malbis Plantation by Jason Malbis, a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

immigrant. Born Antonios Markopoulos in the settlement of Doumena, he spent the first half of his life in a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

. He initially emigrated to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

around 1900. He changed his name to Malbis while there and then, along with one of his friends, William Papageorge, he traveled around the country in search of a place to establish a Greek community. They purchased near

Daphne, Alabama Daphne () is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The city is located along I-10, 11 miles east of Mobile and 170 miles southwest of the state capital of Montgomery. The 2010 United States C ...

in 1906 at $5 per acre. This formed the nucleus of Malbis Plantation. Malbis Memorial Church Sept 2012 02

Other Greek families then joined the monk and Papageorge and began building the plantation in the thickly wooded and unsettled area, with an additional purchased in 1909. The population had grown to 85 by 1920. The group was self-sufficient, farming the land. They eventually had their own power plant, dairy, cannery, bank, garage, nursery, timber company, motel, a bakery in nearby

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

, and more than of property. Malbis died while on a trip to Greece in 1942. He had left written instructions for his survivors to "build a Greek Orthodox church for me in Malbis." The community accomplished this in 1965, with the construction of the church financed through the sale of the plantation's bakery on Broad Street in Mobile by the Malbis Plantation president of that era, Sam George Papas. The remains of Jason Malbis were then interred in a crypt within the church, to the right of the

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...

Architecture

The

Byzantine Revival Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Orthod ...

church was designed by the architectural firm of Frederick C. Woods and Associates in Mobile. Built of brick, limestone, and marble, its plan was inspired by the Church of Ayia Paraskevi in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. The structure is

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

in plan. Domed towers flank the western entrance facade, which features a stone

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

. This porch contains three sets of entrance doors topped by arched mosaics of

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

(Mary),

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, and

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. The arcade is surmounted by arched windows and mosaic panels depicting Saints

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

, and

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...

. This is crowned by a

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

covered in a mosaic depicting the

Dove of Peace Doves, typically domestic pigeons white in plumage, are used in many settings as symbols of peace, freedom, or love. Doves appear in the symbolism of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and paganism, and of both military and pacifist groups. Mythology ...

. All exterior mosaics were created by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

artist Sirio Tonelli. They were executed in Tonelli's workshop in

Pietrasanta Pietrasanta is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of northern Tuscany in Italy, in the province of Lucca. Pietrasanta is part of Versilia, on the last foothills of the Apuan Alps, about north of Pisa. The town is located off the coast, where the ...

and then shipped to Malbis for installation. Almost every available surface in the interior of the church is covered with hand-painted

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

ography. This work was done by a Greek iconographer, Spyros Tziouvaras, and two assistants, Haralambos Tziouvaras and Chris Tziouvaras. The dome above the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

is notable for a painting of the

Pantocrator In Christian iconography, Christ Pantocrator ( grc-gre, Χριστὸς Παντοκράτωρ) is a specific depiction of Christ. ''Pantocrator'' or ''Pantokrator'', literally ''ruler of all'', but usually translated as "Almighty" or "all-po ...

(The Almighty), which was painted by the Tziouvaras team while lying on a scaffold from the floor. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

is supported by

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

columns and

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s of red marble. The iconostasis,

bishop's throne A ''cathedra'' is the podium, raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica (architecture), basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymo ...

, and

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

are carved white

Pentelic marble Mount Pentelicus or Pentelikon (, or ) is a mountain in Attica, Greece, situated northeast of Athens and southwest of Marathon. Its highest point is the peak ''Pyrgari'', with an elevation of 1,109 m. The mountain is covered in large part wi ...

. In 1979,

Hurricane Frederic Hurricane Frederic was an intense and damaging tropical cyclone that carved a path of destruction from the Lesser Antilles to Quebec, in particular devastating areas of the United States Gulf Coast. Though only five were killed directly, the US$ ...

damaged much of the elaborate interior iconography, especially that in the dome. After a series of failed restorations, Mobile-area artist David Riall was hired to restore the church, using research and experimentation to indistinguishably match the Tziouvarases' original work.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Images of the interior and exterior of Malbis Memorial Church

Greek Orthodox churches in the United States Eastern Orthodox churches in Alabama Churches completed in 1965 20th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage Byzantine Revival architecture in Alabama Churches in Baldwin County, Alabama Church buildings with domes Tourist attractions in Baldwin County, Alabama